The Spiritual Practice of Justice

There was a great insert in my Sunday bulletin at Church that I wanted to share with you:

There can be little growth in holiness without growth in a sense of social justice.
-Edward Hays in "A Lenten Hobo Honeymoon"

We must be for the poor not simply a handout but a voice on their behalf where the poor are not heard and their pain is not registered. If we are to really minister, it is up to us to first be transformed ourselves so taht we can then be really transfiguring.
-Joan Chittister from "In the Heart of the Temple: My Spiritual Vision"

Develop a daily cue to remind yourself to practice justice

• Every time you take money out of your wallet, it can be your cue to "practice justice"
• Every time you start your care, it can be your cue to "practice justice"
• Every time you see someone in need, it can be your cue to "practice justice"

Pick your own cue and use that to keep your calling front and center.

Reflections

• Identify an injustice that troubles you. What first made you aware of it? Reflect on one action you have done or can do to combat it.
• Do you think that all people are born with a yearning for justice, or does it have to be taught? Think back to your childhood and recall your most vivid experience of justice or injustice. How can you participate in teaching justice to a younger generation

I really got a lot out of this bulletin insert and wanted to share it with you. There was also a great Psalm that someone quoted this week that I wanted to share in light of this social justice posting and the healthcare debate:

Happy are they who consider the poor and needy! The LORD will deliver them in the time of trouble. The LORD preserves them and keeps them alive, so that they may be happy in the land; he does not hand them over to the will of their enemies. The LORD sustains them on their sickbed and ministers to them in their illness.

God is calling us to take care of the poor and needy and promises to take care of us when we do. We are called to care and to be the hands and feet of God, ministering to the disenfranchised, the hungry, the weak and the sick. Let us not forget.

A prosperity gospel I can live with

Kids at a school in Guatemala that is partially funded through the water system that was installed by Healing Waters International.

Many churches in the past few years have been preaching a "prosperity gospel" that I don't agree with. It is essentially the concept that God desires the material prosperity of those He favors. But to be in God's favor, you must give freely and sacrificially to the church. Essentially, I have seen pastors say this, that if you give $100 dollars to the church today, God will bless you with $1000 in the future, even if that $100 was designated for paying rent, or a heating bill, or for food for your family. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosperity_gospel

I really take issue with this spin on the gospel. My primary critique is best summarized in this quote: "Any Gospel that cannot be preached in a Third-World country is not the True Gospel of Jesus Christ" -- Dr. David Jeremiah

Today, as I was continuing to read A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson I came across a different "Prosperity Gospel" that is much more in line with my own faith. Peterson writes, "Prosperity has nothing to do with insurance policies or large bank accounts or stockpiles of weapons. The root meaning is leisure - the relaxed stance of one who knows that everything is all right because God is over us, with us and for us in Jesus Christ. It is the security of being at home in a history that has a cross at its center. It is the leisure of the person who knows that every moment of their existence is at the disposal of God, lived under the mercy of God."

That is my prosperity gospel!